[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 3, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR ON THE PRESIDENT'S SHELL GAME

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                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 3, 1999

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member commends to his colleagues an 
excellent editorial which appeared in the Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal 
Star, on February 1, 1999.

             [From the Lincoln Journal Star, Feb. 1, 1999]

                Shell Game Doesn't Belong in Washington

       On the carnival midway, it's called the shell game. A fast-
     talking barker with quick hands flicks the nutshells around 
     while the rubes try to guess which one hides the money.
       Inside the Beltway, they play the shell game with 
     taxpayers' money.
       One of the best writers at following the game is Allan 
     Sloan,who writes for Newsweek. In the Feb. 1 issue of the 
     magazine Sloan takes a look at ``Washington's Math Problem.''
       In the article Sloan explains how President Clinton could 
     promise in his State of the Union address to save Social 
     Security, help Medicare AND reduce the national debt.
       Sloan's answer is that the president's commitments add up 
     to 151 percent of the federal budget surpluses he's 
     projecting for the next 15 years.
       Clinton would spend the surplus between the amount taken in 
     for Social Security and the amount paid out. First Clinton 
     would take the $2.3 trillion already committed to the Social 
     Security Trust Fund and spend it for other purposes. Then 
     Clinton would take $2.8 trillion he allegedly is committing 
     to ``save Social Security and Medicare'' and spend that for 
     other things.
       Sloan carefully notes that the Clinton administration says 
     his characterization of the numbers game is unfair. Clinton 
     economics advisor Gene Sperling says ``The president is 
     responsibly advocating 100 percent of the surplus under the 
     rules of the unified budget.''
       Well, that's the way they talk inside the Beltway.
       Out here in the Flyover Zone we call it bogus.
       It helps us to think of America's huge national budget the 
     same way we do a family budget.
       In our comparison, Uncle Bill just got a new sales job. 
     He's really hauling in the loot. Now he's boasting about how 
     he's paying off credit card debts, AND squirreling away money 
     in the kid's college accounts.
       Part of what that rascally Bill is doing is actually good. 
     He really is paying off debts. But he's just stuffing 
     worthless IOUs in the kid's college accounts.
       Uncle Bill's credit card debts are like the $5.5 trillion 
     national debt. President Clinton's plan would pay down $3 
     trillion of that debt. Uncle Bill's college savings are like 
     Social Security. His IOUs are like the worthless treasury 
     notes that President Clinton would put in the Social Security 
     Trust Fund.
       Those treasury notes actually do exist. They are pieces of 
     paper held in a Beltway vault. They even must be repaid with 
     interest. But they are not investments; they are debts. They 
     must be paid with taxes.
       The most positive aspect of Clinton's plan is that it would 
     be easier to borrow money for Social Security when Baby 
     Boomers begin retiring in 2010 if the national debt is 
     smaller.
       It would be a hilarious charade if so many intelligent and 
     perceptive people didn't believe it. Clinton didn't invent 
     it. It's been played that way for years.
       It's time for a change. Taxpayers should insist that the 
     nation's budget figures be presented accurately and 
     straightforwardly.
       Anyone who runs their household budget like Uncle Bill is 
     going to have a day of reckoning. So will Uncle Sam, 
     especially if the nation adopts the scheme proposed by 
     President Clinton.

     

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